Marriott Grande Vista...anyone ever stay here?

[AmandaLee]

Hello!

My husband and son and I are awaiting our first Disney trip April 10th-17th! My inlaws were nice enough to give us a timeshare week to exchange and we chose the Marriott Grande Vista. We are staying in a one bedroom unit with a full kitchen. I am super excited, except when I browse the reviews at TripAdvisor.com EEEKKK! I'ts hard to find anything positive....are people just super picky or does this place really have a BAD rep?

Thanks!

 

[HeatherC]

This is one of my favorite resorts in Orlando...and we've been to quite a few over the years.

It is a beautiful resort and you will have a wonderful time.

It is also a very easy commute to all the parks.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[AmandaLee]

thanks! I was just getting discouraged by all the bad reviews...but I should know better, last year we stayed at Marriot Maui Ocean club and the rooms were great, even though you would not have known it by all the negative reviews.

 

[Harryo]

You Can't go wrong with va Marriott timeshare. We go to Grande Vista every year, it's become our Florida home away from home!

 

[happymommy]

We'll be there in March (got a two bedroom unit booked), so I'll let you know then! It sounds very nice to me, and I love having a washer/dryer on vacation, as well as the kitchen.

If you go to Marriott Vacation Club's website, you can see more details of the resort. I'm going to request a building close to the gas grills, as it's nice to grill for a dinner once or twice (we loved doing that a lot in Hawaii at Ko Olina).

 

[AmandaLee]

I know a marriott property is usually not to disappoint! I wanted the 2 bedroom, but they had no availability during the week we were planning. I think I will call and bug them later and see if anything has opened up.

When we went to Maui, we took advantage of the grils almost every night...the money we saved by eating dinner in allowed my husband and son to go on a deep-sea fishing trip.

 

[Detailor]

The Orlando Marriotts are very nice and you'd be very happy with Grande Vista. And a 1 bedroom would be okay for the three of you, though son will have to tough it out on the livingroom sofa bed and having the big television all to himself.
Grande Vista is a wonderful resort despite those Trip Advisor reports - sometimes those negative comments are due to hotel expectations, as you know a timeshare resort experience is much different from a hotel stay.

I don't see 2 bedroom availability for your week at Grande Vista but I'd note that there is current (Sunday morning) availability of at least one 2-bedroom unit at the relatively new Sheraton Vistana Villages resort that's just down the street from Grande Vista. Much like the Marriott's, other hotel chains - Hyatts, Hiltons, Sheratons and a few others - tend to develop some of the nicest timeshare resorts. While we haven't stayed at Vistana Villages we have stayed at a couple of other Sheraton resort and have been very happy with them. A lot of my online timeshare friends speak very highly of Vistana Villages and it's on my short list of future Orlando resorts should availability match my dates. The only downside is that if you change your reservation you'll have to pay another exchange fee and perhaps a guest certificate fee, too, for that change (I think that those fees through Interval International are $149 and $39, respectively). So if having a two-bedroom villa in a really nice Orlando resort is important to you then maybe changing resorts is a possibility for you.

Dick Taylor

 

[BroganMc]

Hello!

My husband and son and I are awaiting our first Disney trip April 10th-17th! My inlaws were nice enough to give us a timeshare week to exchange and we chose the Marriott Grande Vista. We are staying in a one bedroom unit with a full kitchen. I am super excited, except when I browse the reviews at TripAdvisor.com EEEKKK! I'ts hard to find anything positive....are people just super picky or does this place really have a BAD rep?

Thanks!

Ignore the bad reviews. Usually people only post at TripAdvisor when they want to whine.

I go to Grande Vista every year (or every 18 mos.). It's a beautiful Italian-design resort. They've really improved it with the newer buildings across the resort lake. It's beautiful to go for an early evening stroll there.

Just remember to take some time to stay in and enjoy the resort between your runs to Disney. Oh, and get familiar with the maps of the area. It helps to know the routes before you set out. It's usually faster to take I-4 instead of down International Drive to SR 535. Oh and watch that turn out of the resort on International Drive. That road is notorious for speeders.

 

[AmandaLee]

Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[happymommy]

I wonder if folks grill as much at Grande Vista as they do in Hawaii?

We grilled at least 5 days last summer, and the grill area was always a busy place. Fun to chat with others, and share recipes and see what they were fixing!

I plan on going to Costco for some things, like sirloin burgers and buns, fruits, veggies, etc. Then Publix for other stuff.

I hear others talk about shopping at Publix all the time here, but not Costco. We find Costco is great when you have a kitchen (plus I have a friend who'll be in Orlando, so if we can hook up the first day, I'll share some stuff with her family too). Of course you can't get everything there, but for some stuff it's great.

 

[Detailor]

I wonder if folks grill as much at Grande Vista as they do in Hawaii?

We've stayed at Grande Vista three times (2005-2008) and I haven't seen much use of the grills. Grilling seems like a bigger deal at some resorts than others - I've seen lots of people using the grills at the Cypress Pointe resorts but not so much at the Marriotts. I'd encourage you to start the trend and see who follows!

Dick Taylor

 

[AmandaLee]

Grilling is awsome. It's a good way to meet the other people at the resort and get some good tips and fun ideas on what to do. plus it's fun to send photos back home when everyone is under a winter storm watch and your by the pool grilling

 

[Detailor]

Grilling is awsome. It's a good way to meet the other people at the resort and get some good tips and fun ideas on what to do. plus it's fun to send photos back home when everyone is under a winter storm watch and your by the pool grilling

That's funny. I am planning to grill by my pool at home this weekend. That is after I get the snow off the grill coverage and shovel off some space around the grill on the deck. At least I'll know that the pool is right over there under the snow and ice!

Dick Taylor

 

[AmandaLee]

you are brave...but there is nothing like a grilled steak in -4 degree weather!